Carlisle

At first it was blurry pictures, scraps of words and feelings that crossed his mind surprisingly. They were so rare and fleeting that Carlisle never got around to analyzing them.

Over time, they became more common.

Stronger.

A pattern was emerging, a pattern that, to his own disappointment, would not have even occurred to him without Edward. It was his son who brought it up, who planted the idea in his mind and finally solved the riddle.

When he thought about it, he found that it had started way earlier than he had first thought. Nevertheless, he had never thought of this possibility at the time - although, given his current situation, he should have thought of it.

Leah's thoughts were clearest, though the word clearly was grossly exaggerated. He still had to struggle to at least partially understand her thoughts, but what was a bit easier to identify were her feelings. While at the beginning they passed him like fleeting fog, now you could literally feel the happiness when her blue wolf eyes met his honey-colored ones. He couldn't understand her thoughts, but he felt the disgust of Seth and Jacob, who shook their mighty furry heads in disgust.

He could guess the rest.

"You are close."

Edward's voice sounded eager. It was like he needed a new project to distract himself from the looming problems, at least for a short while. The wolves were motivated too, at least when they found out that it was limited to Leah's mind that he could hear.

And exclusively in the form of a wolf.

But powers were dynamic, he had already discovered that much in his existence. Alice could concentrate on a person and their future, and saw them far more clearly than the arbitrary visions she had now and then. In addition, the wolves were no longer a disruptive factor, at least not a major one.

The thought that Carlisle could hear and feel Leah's thoughts brought a wave of mixed feelings. On the one hand he was infinitely excited by the thought that he could understand Leah better, respond better to her, make her happier and be a better partner to her, on the other hand he was afraid that he would repel her with his thoughts.

Human blood no longer bothered him, but he was what he was.

A monster.

A monster that he had now well under control, but his thoughts all the less. But Edward put it to the point, as always.

"Do you really want to give up the most interesting thing you would experience in your existence simply because you are scared?"

No.

And so they practiced. It took a while until they made the first progress and he could still clearly remember the look on Leah's face when she first heard his thoughts. Her furry face was hard to read, but Carlisle found it as easy to decipher as her human expressions.

Her thoughts also brought other interesting revelations with them. Because neither she nor Seth or Jacob were afraid of the coming storm.

Though they should.

Carlisle had known Aro for a long time.

Very long.

He knew his strengths and also his weaknesses. He had lived with them long enough to know that when the Volturi made a house call, it was never a good sign. And a bad sign usually meant the death of everyone involved.

He remembered what was said about Caius and the werewolves.

A werewolf, a child of the moon, was the only creature that was superior to a vampire.

Even a small group of vampires had no chance against a transformed werewolf.

Unable to access their humanity, werewolves destroyed everything that got in their way.

Especially vampires.

Caius had an encounter with a "child of the moon". His indestructible belief in himself almost cost him his life and the fact that Caius admitted his drastic self-overestimation spoke volumes. After that, werewolves were hunted.

Caius and his henchmen almost exterminated them from all over Europe and Asia. The few who could hide lived so inconspicuously and isolated that they posed no danger.

Aro looked at the whole thing a little differently, he seemed to be amused by the sheer idea in front of Caius almost dead and yet he agreed to the slaughter. A threat to the Volturi had to be eradicated, at all costs.

And with each additional member, the Carlisle family grew into just as much danger to Aro.

Aro was not only unsurpassed in intelligence because of his gift. His character, his senses, his understanding of the world and his curiosity made him a force of nature that should not be underestimated. He had set up his army well, with an unbreakable feeling for tactics, he let talents track down in people and transformed them. There were so many gifts on his guard that Carlisle was sure he wouldn't know all of them.

His greatest accomplishments were twins Jane and Alex.

Two children to be burned by their village. Aro recognized their talent and "saved" them. They were the cornerstone of his power and the most precious thing in his possession.

Until now.

Carlisle knew that Aro's greatest passion was not war and killing, art or culture.

It was in his collection.

Aro didn't necessarily collect talents because he was interested, he collected them because they meant power.

And power was his life.

Power was everything his thoughts revolved around, everything he wanted and everything he longed for. Although he shared the throne with his brothers, it was clear to everyone who the leader was.

And Aro loved it. Carlisle didn't need a power to see that.

And he didn't need one to know that he was on Aro's list.

With Bella, Nessie and the three wolves, they were the largest circle next to the Volturi.

A danger to be aware of. Altought they would never pursue them or challange them to a battle, they still pose a threat.

Especially when you considered the gifts that were represented in the Cullen clan.

Aro had been keeping an eye on Alice, Edward and Jasper for a long time.

Treasures that would make him invincible.

For a long time he had wondered why they were loyal to Carlisle.

Why should they join someone who denied them the meaning of their existence?

Who condemned them to a human, ordinary existence?

First Edward was supposed to solve the mystery. When he touched him, he could see every thought he had ever thought. And that he had ever heard. In other words, Edward was the golden grail to him. But what he found unsettled him deeply, according to Edward.

He saw that his family's devotion was not due to fear but to love.

A feeling that Aro hadn't known what to do with for a long time. But he knew that he wouldn't just get what he wanted. He knew that as long as Carlisle lived he would never add the three talents to his collection.

Carlisle knew that there would be enough reason to attack him. But the Volturi also had to adhere to the laws that they had drafted and enforced themselves.

Carlisle knew that Aro would never attack him without a reason, the support in his circle and in his world was too important.

But recklessly and blindly out of revenge Irina gave him the best reason there could be.

An immortal child.

Carlisle could well imagine how Aro's eyes had brightened as soon as he saw Nessie in Irina's mind.

Finally.

The moment he had waited so long for had finally come.

He had no hope that he would survive Aro's visit. The Cullen family was too much of a thorn in his side, even if Carlisle tried as best he could to lighten the mood. Or maybe he liked to tell himself that Aro would see that no rules were broken.

That maybe even his curiosity was aroused so much that he just let them live. But those were all excuses, stories he whispered to himself when fear got the better of him. Stories he didn't even believe himself.

Of course Leah felt his fear, his despair. But it only seemed to reinforce what she thought anyway.

For her, that option didn't exist, it just wasn't possible that he would die. Especially not through the hands of some vampire clan she didn't even know. And because it was so impossible for her, it wasn't true for her either.

Her confidence was supported by Seth and Jacob. Jacob, who was convinced that Sam's pack was behind him, should the Volturi come. No wolf would tolerate that clan on their land. And no clan could keep up with the ever-growing wolf pack.

Carlisle envied their ignorance, their conviction, their belief. But they did not know what was hiding in Aros' ranks, what hideous, deceitful gifts and what foul character they were ruled and driven by.

They thought that just because they had defeated a bunch of newborns with no purpose and no mind, no leader and no trained talent, they would be able to take on anyone. But they were wrong.

And Carlisle wasn't going to let it come to that. He wouldn't allow a wolf or any member of his family to die. Leah least of all.

The very thought made him collapse in pain. If Marcus told Aro about the bond between him and Leah, if Aro saw it in his mind, it would be over. Aro would just slaughter everyone for the sake of completeness.

Wolves, Vampires, and Witnesses. It wouldn't matter.

It was strange.

For decades he wanted to die.

For months he tried in various ways to end his existence - unsuccessfully. He had searched and searched for something, anything that could kill him and unwittingly found it on a beach in La Push.

Leah could kill him in countless ways and it terrified him. She could change her mind, eventually, she could leave him and he would let her go, even if he knew he wouldn't survive.

She could be injured or die, if not by the Volturi then by a nomad, a wolf or an accident.

He shook his head gently and felt the piercing gaze of his personal death incarnate on him.

She looked at him as if she was expecting to hear his thoughts and for the first time Carlisle was glad that this ability was limited to her wolf form. His mouth twisted into a slight smile, a gesture that was far easier for him than for the others. Her mere presence was comforting, her gaze aroused desire in his body and desire in his mind, and yet he could not completely divert his mind away from the impending disaster.

How could it all get out of hand so quickly?

He had bought a house, furnished it with Esme's help - very macabre, he was aware of that, but she insisted and Carlisle was also glad to have help, he wanted to start his life with Leah, with everything that entails.

All his hope it was all in vain. And once again he felt confirmed.

Maybe he was really cursed. Maybe happiness wasn't granted to him. Maybe God wanted to see him suffering. And how could you suffer more than having tasted happiness only to then lose everything.

But maybe he could do everything right after all.

Perhaps Aro was content with his sacrifice.

Perhaps in it he had found the meaning of his existence and perhaps God would give him credit for all his hardships and efforts.